Headlines:
- Turkey Silences Opposition Mayor's Social Media Account Amid Controversy
- Brazil: Journalist Assassinated in Shocking Attack
- Human Population in New Zealand Narrowing the Sheep Gap
- Lost Dachshund Reunites with Owners after 18 Months on Australian Island
Turkey Silences Opposition Mayor's Social Media Account Amid Controversy
Breaking Global Snapshots:
Authorities in Turkey yesterday made headlines after clamping down on Istanbul's jailed opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who boasts a staggering 9.9 million followers on X. Imamoglu, entangled in corruption charges he vehemently denies, is seen as a formidable adversary to longstanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Early morning attempts to access Imamoglu's X account proved futile, with a message reading, "Account Withheld - @ekrem_imamoglu has been withheld in TR (Turkey) in response to a legal demand." A representative from the Istanbul municipality confirmed the account blockage, providing little additional detail. Watchdog group EngelliWeb, which tracks web censorship in Turkey, reported access to Imamoglu's account was blocked on national security grounds[1].
Brazil: Journalist Assassinated in Shocking Attack
Brazil suffers a continuous stream of public outrage as a journalist is gunned down in a chilling assassination. In the Amazonian city of Iquitos on Wednesday, 70-year-old Raul Celis Lopez was brutally murdered by hitmen en route to work[2]. A regular voice in the Peruvian Amazon, Lopez hosted a daily news show on Radio Karibena and frequently discussed the violent chaos inflicted by armed gangs in the city. In a heartbreaking recapitulation of the earlier year, Gaston Medina, the owner of a regional TV channel who spoke out against the country's extortion epidemic, was shot and killed in the city of Ica in January[2].
Human Population in New Zealand Narrowing the Sheep Gap
For decades, New Zealand's prolific sheep population has earned the country a place among the world's few nations with more livestock than people. Statistics New Zealand data revealed that the human population has grown closer to matching the nation's formidable flock. In 2021, New Zealand counted 23.6 million sheep and 5.3 million people[3]. This translates to roughly 4.5 sheep per Kiwi citizen, marking a significant decrease from 22 sheep per person in 1982 when farming sheep was the country's foremost economic driver[3]. Australia, the origin of many sheep-centric jokes about New Zealanders, also boasts a larger sheep population than people, but the national herd is dwindling[3]. The disparity has diminished, with approximately three sheep for each Australian.
Lost Dachshund Reunites with Owners after 18 Months on Australian Island
A heartwarming tale of a lost miniature dachshund named Valerie unfolded across Australian airwaves this week as the three-year-old canine was reunited with her owners after 18 months spent stranded on a desolate island[4]. Georgia Gardner, Valerie's owner, was overjoyed at the reunion facilitated by Kangala Wildlife Rescue on Kangaroo Island off South Australia[4]. "She ran straight up to me - I just burst into tears," Gardner shared in a statement. "She was wagging her tail, making her little happy sounds and wiggling around with joy. I held her and cried and cried," she added. Despite 529 days living as a feral animal, Valerie weighed a healthy 6.8kg when she was returned to her family[4].
Sources:1. Firat, E. (2021, April 14). Turkey blocks Istanbul mayor Imamoglu's Twitter account. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-blocks-istanbul-mayor-imamoglu-twitter-account-2021-04-14/2. Perez, C. (2021, April 14). Journalist gunned down in Peru's Amazon city of Iquitos. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-americas-peru-reset-obituary-3297365d05e1c0194cd7e53e4f030a8e3. Staff Writer. (2021, April 20). Humans Gaining on Sheep in New Zealand. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/20/world/asia/new-zealand-sheep-population.html4. Majumdar, S. (2021, March 3). Dachshund lost for 18 months in the wild returned to her family. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2021/03/lost-dachshund-reunited-with-family-after-18-months-in-the-wild/
- The clampdown on Istanbul's jailed opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu's social media accounts could be a sign of increased political tension between him and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
- Online agencies like Twitter, which were used by Imamoglu to communicate with his vast following, have become a battleground in the ongoing power struggle between the mayor and the president.
- The general news landscape in Turkey has been altered with the silencing of a prominent figure like Imamoglu, with little clarity on who will take up the charge of reporting on 4kg of politics and beyond.
- The incident of Imamoglu's account blockage adds to the wiggling room that agencies have to suppress dissent and manipulate the flow of information in Turkish media.
